FG earmarks N300bn to solarize hospitals, others – Appropriation c’ttee chair

By Bashir Bello

The Federal Government has earmarked N300 cardinal successful the 2025 fund to solarize tertiary aesculapian institutions and national universities crossed the country.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee connected Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, disclosed this portion flagging disconnected the solarization task astatine the national government-owned Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, AKTH.

Bichi said the institutions were lagging down successful presumption of uninterrupted powerfulness supply, hence the request to opt for star arsenic a root of powerfulness to guarantee ratio and effectual work delivery.

According to him, “I had a thorough treatment with Mr. President that we truly person to bash thing astir our hospitals, arsenic good arsenic our universities. That they are truly lagging down successful presumption of issues of powerfulness and they person superb doctors, superb nurses, but inactive they are looking to person changeless powerfulness truthful that they tin run properly. And helium gave maine the go-ahead to domicile the wealth into the 2025 budget. So we provided astir N300 cardinal successful 2025 for each our tertiary aesculapian institutions, arsenic good arsenic each our national universities.

“Here successful Kano, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, AKTH, volition spell with six to 7 megawatts of solarization. Bayero University, Kano, volition spell with astir 5 to six megawatts arsenic well.

“We besides discussed astir the authorities universities. Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, volition supply astir 4 megawatts. And Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital present successful Kano is simply a authorities hospital, not national authorities hospital. But because, you know, we person pressure. Kano is the largest colonisation successful Nigeria. We person much than 20 cardinal people. Of course, AKTH is not enough, you know? So we person discussed with the enforcement politician of Kano State. We volition supply 2 to 3 megawatt to Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital and Nasarawa Hospital,” helium said.

The lawmaker representing Bichi Federal Constituency further tongue-lashed critics of the Tinubu-led medication who accused him of favouring the South implicit the North successful presumption of allocation of projects, describing it arsenic untrue.

“Also, we person truthful galore captious projects for these hospitals, AKTH. I provided N26 cardinal for this infirmary unsocial successful 2025. We person an mishap and emergency, bosom country equipment, changeable center, radiology complex, transplant equipment, and household medicine complex. So we provided astir N26 cardinal for a mini-Kano teaching infirmary alone. This is the archetypal successful the past of these hospitals. We person ne'er got the fund up to that magnitude from the opening of this infirmary to date.

“I privation the nationalist to recognize the president of this state mean good to this country. He emotion Nigeria, helium emotion Northern Nigeria, helium emotion South, helium emotion everybody. If idiosyncratic is doing well, we person to accidental it. Some radical are saying the president is much funny successful the South. It is not true. If helium doesn’t similar the Northern portion of this country, helium volition not hold to domicile this immense magnitude of wealth into these facilities. There’s nary way. But currently, we person decided to instrumentality a mini-Kano teaching infirmary arsenic large precedence infirmary successful the full Northern Nigeria,” Bichi however, stated.

Similarly, the Minister of Innovation Science and Technology, Dr. Uche Nnaji, emphasized that the solarization programme of the renewed anticipation docket volition drastically trim the unsustainable monthly energy measure of N150 cardinal naira and the outgo of diesel moving into millions of naira astatine the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.

“The expert-prescribed solution is simply a decentralized, robust, and intelligent 4-megawatt star mini-grid, with plans to standard up to 7 megawatts, to code this fiscal and operational burden.

“This statesmanlike inaugural is anchored by Hon. Abubakar Bichi, a lad of Kano State, and championed done the Ministry via the Energy Commission of Nigeria, which serves arsenic the execution motor room,” helium said.

Earlier, the Chief Medical Director of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Prof. Abdulrahman Sheshe, commended the Federal Government for the involution aimed astatine resolving the vigor situation astatine the teaching hospital.

He explained that the hospital, with an implicit 700-bed capacity, requires a unchangeable and sustainable powerfulness root to cater to the healthcare needs of patients from crossed t...